The Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, S S Dhindsa has assured all possible governmental help to modernize Indian chemical and pharmaceutical industry. He said that the ministry is going through the recent task force recommendations made on the matter and is in process of incorporating as many recommendations as possible while drawing future plans for the chemical industry in the country.

The task force recommendations made by an expert committee led by Dr Ashok Ganguly, chairman, Imperial Chemical Industries India Ltd (ICI India Ltd), had pointed out lack of modernization in Indian chemical sector as one of the major drawbacks of the country in the particular segment. The minister also said that the government would come out with policy decisions that are relevant to the SSI sector in the country.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the International conference on chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical technologies, process plant machinery control and automation system, organized as part of IndiaChem 2002 here today, the minister made special reference to the SSI sector and said that every possible help would be given to them to update and upgrade their technologies.

Inaugurating the conference, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Vice President of India, wanted the conference to take note of the technological advancements that took place in the world of chemical industry since IndiaChem 2000. He said that project collaborations, joint ventures and technical tie-ups among Indian and foreign chemical companies should be given greater emphasis. "We need to create to create more employment opportunity. More employment opportunities should be created without compromising on the technical competitiveness of the units. We need to be totally self sufficient to ensure affordable medicines to common man", he said.

Delivering the "Vision Statement," Dr Ashok Ganguly, chairman, ICI India Ltd., pointed out the major findings of the task force that was setup to understand the importance of a modern chemical industry in the country. He said India lack a holistic view on the chemical sector. He said that lot has to be done before it could be considered as environment friendly. High cost of funds available for modernization, lack of modernization and almost nil investment on modern R&D were all highlighted as the drawbacks of Indian chemical sector. However, Dr Ganguly considered the large and rapidly growing economy, presence of successful leaders in chemical industry, high employment and profit generation potential, knowledge base and government initiatives to be the strengths of Indian chemical industry sector. He said that the task force had recommended the formation of integrated chemical industry parks in the country to come out with cost effective products for the future.